


will you remember me in the same way (as i remember you)

by favowiteperson



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, just straight up taagnus my dudes!, taagnus, theres character deaths but its stolen century so they're good in the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 16:40:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15644757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/favowiteperson/pseuds/favowiteperson
Summary: “Okay,” he says, “when all this is over, I’ll build us a house.”There’s a moment of silence after Magnus says this, and Taako gets a faraway look in his eyes.But then he blinks, looks at Magnus through tipsy, half-lidded eyes, and says: “Dope.”The moment passes.•Falling in love once is tricky enough. Falling in love twice is near impossible. Taako and Magnus make it work.





	will you remember me in the same way (as i remember you)

**Author's Note:**

> Names of spells and names of hexes,  
> names cursed quietly under the breath,  
> or called out loudly to fill the yard,  
> calling you inside again, calling you home.  
> -Richard Siken

It’s cycle 27, and the Starblaster stops, for the first time, at a plane somewhat resembling their own. The sky is a slightly different shade of purple, and the grass is longer, wilder, and a startling yellow color, but it’s good enough for Magnus.

 

It seems that it’s also good enough for Lup, who runs down the ramp of the Starblaster at full speed, closely followed by Taako. 

 

The others follow at a much more reasonable pace, with Barry already talking about atmosphere and temperature and oxygen levels and other things that Magnus absolutely does not understand and doesn’t even want to attempt to decipher. 

 

He speeds up slightly in an attempt to avoid Barry’s science talk and ends up walking alongside Taako, who is watching Lup with a fond expression on his face as she joyfully runs through the wild yellow field in front of them, shooting sparks from her fingertips.

 

Taako’s grin is turned to Magnus when he notices the larger man approaching, and he lets off his own shower of sparks into the air above them, even his aloof nature being broken by the excitement of finally having a plane that vaguely resembles home.

 

“Yo, Maggie! How rad is this?” Taako says, and Magnus almost trips over his own feet at the sensation of having a happy Taako in front of him, smiling and showering the both of them in sparks that rain down and disappear when they touch their sun-warmed skin. 

 

“God, yeah. It’s- it’s great. I was getting tired of weird foreign planes, especially after having to witness Merle in the plane that was entirely plants.” Magnus says with a shudder. 

 

Taako laughs and tilts his head up to the sky, letting the late afternoon sunlight warm his face, and Magnus watches in fascination as his long elven ears twitch before perking up. 

 

“Hachi Machi, that sure was a thing that happened, huh.” Taako whistles. “Maybe on this plane there will actually be-” Taako stops short, his gaze fixed somewhere in the distance.

 

“Will actually be...?” Magnus prompts.

 

“People!” Taako exclaims, pointing across the field ahead of him where Magnus can vaguely make out the forms of a few human-like figures approaching them. The others seem to have noticed them too, as Lup stops running and shooting sparks and makes her way over to Barry, while Davenport approaches the front of the group.

 

As the strangers get closer, Magnus takes an instinctive step in front of Taako, causing the elf to roll his eyes.

 

“Chill it, big guy. They don’t seem dangerous.”

 

“They could be!” Magnus protests, slightly sheepish after being called out.

 

Taako just shakes his head fondly and loops his small arm through Magnus’ larger one, tugging him over to the others. 

 

The figures are closer now, around five people, and Magnus can make out the chatter of voices as they approach. A tall man with large curling horns and a scar across his mouth moves to the front of the group when they reach the IPRE crew, and he gives a warm smile when he says:

 

“Welcome! My name is Aeracis. I assume you’re here for the festival?”

 

“Yes.” Taako answers immediately, before anyone else can get a word out. “Yes, got it in one! That is exactly why we’re here. That thing you just said.”

 

Davenport frowns and opens his mouth, but is cut off by a young teenage girl with a short black bob and messy fringe pushing her way to the front of the group, moving next to Aeracis and tilting herself up onto her tiptoes to peer past Magnus and the others.

 

“Woah! Is that ship yours?” She asks, bouncing on her heels.

 

“Yup. Pretty sick ride, huh?” Lup grins, lazily conjuring a few sparks on her fingertips again.

 

The girl’s eyes widen and she discreetly conjures a few sparks on her own fingertips, wiggling her fingers at Lup in a shimmery wave. However, she must cast the spell too strongly- or at least that’s what Magnus assumes with his limited knowledge of magic- because one of the sparks drops off her finger and lands on her skirt, causing her to quickly dispel the charm and hastily pat at her skirt so it doesn’t catch fire. 

 

“Mae!” Aeracis chides, but there’s a hint of amusement in his voice. He turns to the others. “Sorry, she gets a bit over excited around magic users. We don’t have many spellcasters around these parts, you see.”

 

“Yeah, we aren’t exactly from ‘round here.” Taako drawls. “So, what’s the deal with this festival?”

 

Mae looks up from her still slightly smoking skirt with a grin.

 

“Oh, Inulath? It’s great!” Mae chirps, “It’s a celebration on the first full moon of summer! There’s food and dancing and everything!” 

 

“The festival has already started in the town square.” Aeracis gestures behind him, and Magnus can see some buildings in the distance. “Just listen for the music and you should find it easy enough.”

 

Magnus hears Taako energetically shift from foot to foot next to him, with a mutter of “hell yeah, a party” and he suppresses a grin. 

 

“Aeri!” calls a curly haired elven person from the back of the small group that Aeracis and Mae arrived with. “We gotta go!”

 

Aeracis smiles at them and clasps his hands together. 

 

“Well, we saw you arrive and just came to welcome you! I hope you enjoy the festival!” 

 

“Oh, we  _ absolutely _ will.” Taako mutters, and Magnus can’t help but laugh quietly at this, causing Taako to bump his shoulder against Magnus’ own, catching his eye with a mischievous smile. 

 

Everyone exchanges their goodbyes, and the other group makes their way back to town, Mae slyly shooting a few more sparks in Lup’s direction with a cheeky grin- luckily these ones float harmlessly to the ground and disappear in a glimmer of light.

 

As soon as Aeracis and the others are out of earshot, Lup and Taako almost simultaneously let out a cheer. 

 

“Party time!” Lup exclaims, grabbing Barry’s hand excitedly. 

 

Taako bumps Magnus’ shoulder again and grins. 

 

“Hope you have your dancing shoes on, Mango.”

 

“Always do.”

 

“Mhm, mhm, like when we were dancing in the Starblaster kitchen and you slipped and knocked over the-”

 

“Aaaaand we’re leaving!” 

 

Magnus jogs over to where the others have already started to walk back in the direction of the Starblaster, presumably to get ready for the festival, followed by a cackling Taako. 

 

The team has acquired many fancy clothes from different planes (mainly Taako), and there was frequent complaining that they never got the opportunity to wear them (again, mainly Taako). Naturally, it takes everyone a while to decide what outfits they want to finally get some use out of. However, after a few hours Davenport declares that they’re leaving in “five minutes, ready or not, and so help me Lup you will be leaving this ship with half-finished eyeliner if you don’t hurry up.” 

 

And so the seven of them make their way down the Starblaster ramp, looking, as Taako would say “fucking impeccable”. 

 

It’s not a long walk across the field to the town square, and when they get there, everyone in the group immediately runs off in different directions, eager to experience as much of this place as possible. And for good reason too. 

 

The festival, Magnus thinks, is the second most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

 

The sky is just beginning to get dark by the time they arrive, and there are glowing orbs of light floating high in the air, illuminating the area, and by the time an hour has passed, they float lower and begin to glow brighter.

 

There are small stands lining the town square, selling everything from wind chimes to street food. People are everywhere, smiling and laughing and dancing, brightly colored dresses twirling through the square and sparkly fabrics glinting in the lights. 

 

And it’s the second most beautiful thing Magnus has ever seen, because when he turns around, he sees Taako. 

 

The elf is just standing there, in a clear space among all the other partygoers, looking up at the floating orbs with a small smile on his face. His deep red skirt is swaying gently in the breeze and his long earrings do the same, the soft glow of the lights causing them to glint and sparkle. 

 

Magnus feels like that glow of light that the orbs give off has made its way into his chest and filled it with a warmth, washing through him and driving him toward Taako. 

 

It’s only been around an hour since the group split up, but he makes his way over to the elf instinctively, weaving through the crowd until he reaches him. Taako turns his gaze to Magnus as he approaches, almost as if he’s been waiting for him. 

 

As Magnus gets closer he allows himself a few seconds to take in the details of Taako. 

 

His flushed cheeks, his messy braid, his freckles, the small gap between his front teeth.

 

The light inside Magnus’ chest grows in intensity and spreads out, out, out, filling his whole body. 

 

“Maggie.” Taako says in a hushed voice when Magnus reaches him, grabbing his hand.

 

“Hey buddy, you been drinking?” Magnus laughs a little.

 

“Mmm, only a little!” Taako says, and begins to tug on Magnus’ hand, motioning toward one of the stalls. “C’mon, I want to show you something.”

 

Magnus allows himself to be dragged to a small wooden stall, where several wind chimes are being displayed. As they get closer, Magnus realizes that each one has an intricately carved animal hanging in the center. 

 

Taako points to a particular wind chime- a large one, with long, thin cylinders of dark red glass hanging down and making cheerful clinking noises as they bump against each other. 

 

And then Magnus notices the carving in the middle of the wind chime: a gorgeous hand-carved bear. He reaches up and runs a finger over the details of the carving, and Taako shifts beside him, moving to stand on his tiptoes and get a better view. 

 

“It reminded me of you.” Taako says quietly, eyes fixed on the wind chime, and the ball of light in Magnus’ chest explodes. “It’s pretty, right?”

 

“It’s gorgeous.” Magnus says, and he’s not looking at the carving anymore. 

 

Taako reaches out a delicate hand and taps one of the glass cylinders, causing it to collide with the others, and the tinkling sound gets louder.

 

“When all this is over,” says Taako, “we should get a bunch of these.” 

 

“You really like wind chimes, huh?” Magnus says, over the thrumming of his heart.

 

“Sparkly.” Taako says simply, and Magnus laughs. “Also, think about it, dude. Wind chimes. A proper house. No stupid tiny kitchens and tiny beds.”

 

“No more waiting for Merle to get out of the bathroom in the mornings.”

 

“ _ Yes. _ ” Taako says passionately, and Magnus laughs again.

 

“Okay,” he says, “when all this is over, I’ll build us a house.” 

 

There’s a moment of silence after Magnus says this, and Taako gets a faraway look in his eyes. 

 

But then he blinks, looks at Magnus through tipsy, half-lidded eyes, and says: “Dope.” 

 

The moment passes.

 

Taako grabs Magnus’ hand again and pulls him over to another stall that catches his eye, and another, and another, and before they know it the crowds are starting to thin out and people are beginning to pack up their stalls for the night. 

 

The music is still playing though, and the orbs are still hanging in the sky, and they eventually run into Lup who pulls Taako into a crowd of people who are still dancing in the center of the square. 

 

She twirls him around so his skirt flares out, and he lets out a laugh, loud and pure, and god, Magnus really is in deep, huh? 

 

Taako looks over and gestures for Magnus to join them, but Magnus just shakes his head and mouths: ‘I’ll be right back.’

 

Taako nods and grabs Lup’s hand, twirling her around as she shrieks in surprise, and Magnus quickly turns and makes his way back to the wind chime stall.

 

When he gets there, a teenage girl is behind it, levitating the wind chimes off their display hooks and into crates, and Magnus recognizes her as Mae, the girl they met earlier. 

 

“Hey, are you still open for business?” Magnus asks hopefully, and Mae stops levitating a wind chime in mid-air and spins around to face him. 

 

“Sure thing!” She grins, blowing her fringe out of her face. “I noticed you stop by earlier. Are you gonna buy that red one for your boyfriend?” 

 

Magnus chokes.

 

“Oh! Taako isn’t my boyfriend! Just. Just friend.” He says, praying that he isn’t blushing. 

 

Judging by the look on Mae’s face, he is.

 

“Uh-huh.” She says, unconvinced. “Whatever you say, big guy.”

 

Before Magnus can respond, she’s pulling the bear wind chime out of a crate and holding it out in front of him. 

 

“So, this one?” 

 

“Yeah, that’s the one.” Magnus manages to say, even though the only thing running through his mind is the thought of the words ‘Taako’ and ‘boyfriend’ in the same sentence.

 

Mae pulls out a cloth bag from under the counter and places the wind chime in it. 

 

“Is that all?” She asks, handing over the bag.

 

Magnus takes it and thinks for a second.

 

“Uh, odd request, but do you have one with a mongoose carving?”

 

Mae quirks an eyebrow and shakes her head. 

 

“Nah, sorry. Kind of an obscure animal, dude.”

 

Magnus chuckles. 

 

“Yeah, it kinda is.” He looks around at the remaining wind chimes on display, and a small one made of beautiful light blue glass catches his eye. It has no carving on it. 

 

“Can I get that one as well?” he asks, gesturing to it. 

 

“Absolutely!” Mae beams. “I made this one myself.” 

 

She levitates it down and places it in another bag, handing it over to Magnus. 

 

“Thank you.” he says genuinely, holding the bags very carefully, lest he break the contents. “How much?” 

 

Mae just shakes her head, her messy bob getting even messier as she does so. 

 

“Don’t worry about it. It’s on the house.”

 

“Are you sure?” Magnus says, eyes wide. “I don’t want to just take-”

 

“Consider it a gift.” Mae interrupts. “This is your first Inulath festival experience, I’d be honored to provide you with a token to remember it by.”

 

“Thank you.” Magnus says again, and Mae just waves him off.

 

“Don’t worry about it, just get out of here before I change my mind.” She says, but her tone is teasing. “And say hi to your boyfriend for me!” 

 

Magnus flushes again and immediately spins around on his heel to hide his face. 

 

“Not my boyfriend!” He calls over his shoulder, and he’s met with the sound of Mae giggling as he walks away. 

 

Magnus shakes his head. Taako? His boyfriend? It’s stupid. 

 

Sure, Taako is beautiful, and funny, and has talked about them getting a house together in the future.

 

But he’s not his boyfriend.

 

Beautiful, charming, and not his boyfriend. 

 

And if Magnus spends that night carving a mongoose charm and fixing it onto a sparkling blue wind chime, well, that doesn’t mean anything. 

  
•  
  
  


Cycles where they don’t find the light in time will never get any easier. 

 

It’s cycle 32, and Taako is sprinting as fast as he can away from the darkness that’s rolling in over the hills, consuming everything in its path. 

 

Lucretia and Davenport are already in the Starblaster, Merle has just arrived at the ramp and is scrambling on board. Barry and Lup are to his left, shooting spells at the tendrils of darkness that surround them, trying their best to clear a path for Magnus and Taako, who are bringing up the rear. 

 

Lup blasts out a particularly powerful fireball, and a tendril of the Hunger ahead of them retracts, and Taako almost lets out a yell of relief. Sure, there are people already on the Starblaster, so everyone else will reappear on board when they leave this plane anyway, but not dying? That’s ideal in Taako’s eyes. 

 

And so the path to the Starblaster in front of them clears, the rapid assault of the Hunger calms down, and there’s a brief moment where Taako thinks they’re going to make it. He sprints faster, eyes trained on the ship in front of them. They’re going to make it.

 

They don’t make it. 

 

A huge tendril of darkness comes flying at them from the right, slamming into Magnus and sending him soaring backward.

 

“No!”

 

The shout is torn from Taako’s throat without his permission, and he dashes to Magnus’ side, dropping to his knees beside the man.

 

Lup quickly glances back over her shoulder, still running and sending firebolts spiraling out alongside her as she sprints towards the Starblaster. 

 

“Taako! Come on!”

 

“Go without me!” Taako is alarmed when his shout comes out choked, and it takes him a while to realize he’s on the verge of tears. “Just go!” 

 

Lup seems to understand, because she doesn’t say anything else, instead nodding quickly and running faster until she reaches the ship. 

 

A weak groan brings Taako’s attention back to the ground next to him, and when he turns his gaze back to the fighter, he’s met with the sight of an extremely beat up Magnus attempting to move himself upright.

 

“Hey! Be careful, bubbeleh.” Taako gives Magnus a once over and winces at the state of him. There is blood smeared under his nose, a cut across his forehead, and an awful rattling sound in his chest when he breathes. 

 

“You know what? Why don’t we just kick it down here on the floor? No need to get up.” Taako says quickly, shifting closer. He pulls the long sleeve of his blouse over his hand and gently wipes away some of the blood from Magnus’ forehead.

 

“Okay, nervous Taako, that’s new.”  Magnus gives a weak smile. “It’s ‘cause I’m gonna die, huh?” 

 

“No. Shut up.” Taako’s hands hover anxiously above Magnus before finally he lightly places them on the man’s chest and breathes out a shaky sigh. “Okay, maybe death is a thing that’s going to happen soon, but I’m going to die too. And then we’re gonna reappear on the Starblaster good as new. And you’re not gonna be alone when it happens.” 

 

“Taako-”

 

“No. Stop. This is stupid. We literally can’t die. We’re gonna be fine soon.” 

 

Magnus reaches up and closes his large hand over one of Taakos smaller, shaking ones.

 

“We are going to be fine. But we’re still going to die, and it still sucks.”

 

Taako says nothing, instead focusing on the feeling of his hand in Magnus’ and trying very hard not to look at the Hunger approaching faster and faster now, waves of darkness crashing towards them.

 

It’s in that moment that Magnus realizes something. 

 

Taako can tell this by the way he furrows his eyebrows, and then suddenly lets out a quiet “oh” and tightens his grip on Taako’s hand. 

 

“This is your first time dying, isn’t it?”

 

Taako almost chuckles at the absurdity of the question, but between the blood on his sleeve and the roaring of the Hunger approaching, he can’t quite bring himself to. 

 

“Got it in one.” He says, and he’s quite proud of himself when his voice doesn’t shake or crack.

 

Magnus is quiet for a while, and Taako is almost dreading the look of pity he’s about to get- Magnus has died several times now, and here Taako is, trying to navigate it for the first time, while Magnus is the one seriously injured. Taako already feels helpless and he really doesn’t need anything to add to the feeling, thank you very much.

 

But the look of pity never comes. 

 

Instead, Magnus says: 

 

“Do you want a deck?”

 

Okay, Taako wasn’t expecting that.

 

“Uhh, run that by me one more time?”

 

“For the wind chimes. Do you want a deck?”

 

Taako’s breath hitches, and he tries very hard to cover it up with a huff of incredulous laughter. 

 

“Okay, yeah, we’re dying, time to make landscaping decisions.”

 

“It’s as good a time as any.” Magnus is still holding Taako’s hand, and Taako’s heart is still clenching painfully in his chest. 

 

“I didn’t actually think you’d remember that.”

 

“Of course I did.” Magnus says with so much sincerity that the feeling in Taako’s chest doubles in intensity. “So, you want a deck?” 

 

This time, it’s Taako who has a realization.

 

He sees a future. 

 

He sees a workshop with wood shavings coating all the surfaces in it. 

 

He sees a huge yard with long grass, lined with fruit trees.

 

He sees a kitchen with big windows, morning light shining through and illuminating the space. 

 

He sees a large deck, with wind chimes hanging from the wooden railings above.

 

He sees Magnus, and he sees himself, and he is so, so happy.

 

And so he says: “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted something so much in my life.”

 

Before Magnus can reply, the Hunger engulfs them.

 

But he is still holding Taako’s hand.

 

When Taako dies, he’s thinking of wind chimes. 

  
•  
  


In a small room, the soft blue light of a glass tank illuminates a young woman. She is holding a thick blue book bound with silver trim, and she is crying quietly. The shape floating in the tank reaches out a tendril and places it on the glass, and the woman sucks in a breath. 

 

“I’m sorry.” She whispers to the empty room, and she walks toward the tank. 

 

She drops the book into the top of the tank with her eyes closed, because she’s not sure she can bear to look, and the tendrils of the Voidfish have only just wrapped around the journal when the door opens behind her. 

 

The man looks to the tank, and then to the woman standing next to it. His face drains of color as he fights helplessly, desperately, to not lose sight of the image in his mind.

 

Long blonde hair. Pointed ears. Bubbling laughter. Freckles.

 

It’s getting more and more difficult to hold on now, and the young woman is crying harder. He doesn’t know who she is.

 

“God, Magnus, no… You weren’t supposed to see this, I’m so sorry, Magnus.”

 

Magnus breathes deeply, closing his eyes, trying to keep his memories from slipping away like sand through his fingers.

 

Warm hands. Flushed cheeks. A wooden house. Wind chimes. 

 

He doesn’t know where he is.

 

“What are you do- what?”

 

The collection of images in his mind are fading fast. It feels like something is reaching into his chest and extinguishing a flame that has been burning for centuries. He doesn’t know how he’s going to live without it. 

 

“Magnus, please- this is just for a little bit, I’m gonna stop this, what we’ve done to this world. I’m gonna find you a place where you can be happy again, it’s just for a little while, and then, you’ll remember, I promise.”

 

Through his confusion, all he can manage to choke out is: “Who are you?”

 

Static is creeping into the edges of his vision, but he can still make out the woman with tears streaming down her face. 

 

“I can do this Magnus, please.” Her voice is now more static than human, and Magnus tries hopelessly, one last time, to remember that feeling of warmth in his chest and who put it there. 

 

“Please just lie down, I don’t want you to fall and hurt yourself. I love you, Magnus, I love all of you. I’m sorry, it’ll be over soon.”

 

His mind fixates on the only word in the sentence that he can feel himself resonate with. Love.

 

He wills his mind to hold onto the wooden house and the laughter and the wind chimes. Love.

 

Love.

 

He’s still repeating the word in his head when he hits the ground. 

  
•  
  


In a tavern in the heart of Neverwinter, a dwarf sits at a wooden table, sipping a cider as the elf next to him files his nails lazily. The lights in the room are dim, but the comforting kind of dim, the lit torches along the walls casting flickering shadows on the faces of everyone in the tavern. 

 

A large figure approaches the table and glances between the other two already present. 

 

“Hey, are you guys here for the transport job too?” He asks.

 

“Uh-huh.” The elf replies, glancing up from his nail file. 

 

The taller man tilts his head and studies the elf's face, a strange feeling in his chest. 

 

“Take a fantasy picture, my dude, it’ll last longer.” The elf winks, and the man quickly sits down and focuses his attention on his drink.

 

He manages that for three whole seconds before he gives in and looks back up at the elf again, who is already looking at him and smirking slightly.

 

“Sorry,” the man says, “but… do I know you from somewhere?”

 

The elf immediately stiffens and goes back to filing his nails, but it is much less relaxed now. 

 

“Mmmyeah, you probably do. Had a cooking show. Didn’t really pan out.” He says. “The name’s Taako.” 

 

“Oh, I’m- I’m Magnus.”

 

“And I exist too.” The dwarf chimes in from the other end of the table. “Merle Highchurch. My cousin should be here soon, and we can discuss this job.” 

 

“Mhm, cool, cool.” Taako waves his hand vaguely. “Hey, big guy, what’s your last name?”

 

“Uh. It’s Burnsides.” Says Magnus, eyes involuntarily following the movements of Taakos hand. 

 

“Of fuckin’ course it is.” Taako snorts. “Magnus Burnsides.” 

 

“What does that  _ mean _ ?”

 

“It means you look like you walked right out of a Rustic Carpenter Weekly magazine, Mango.” 

 

“That’s not a thing.”

 

“Oh trust me, it  _ is. _ ”

 

Merle leans back in his chair and watches in amusement as the other two bicker back and forth, the sounds of laughter progressively getting more and more frequent.

 

It might just be in his head, but he swears the tavern is lighter than when they arrived.

  
•  
  


The list of places Taako would like to be right now is pretty long.

 

In his bed back at the moonbase, just straight chillin’ with a face mask on? Hell yes.

 

Teaching Avi how to paint his nails without getting polish all over his cuticles like a  _ heathen _ ? Of course. 

 

In his favorite clothing store in Neverwinter, buying that cute blouse he’s been eyeing up for weeks? Naturally.

 

Listening to Angus ramble about his detective books that Taako pretends to know far less about than he actually does? He’d never tell anyone, but yes. 

 

This dark creepy forest that he’s currently in is absolutely not on the list. 

 

He’s curled up on his bedroll, laying on his side, watching the campfire flicker in front of him. Merle’s loud snores, which usually would annoy Taako, now provide him some comfort — as much as Taako dunks on the guy, it’s reassuring having a reminder that someone else is there, and honestly, Taako trusts Merle’s old man senses. If Merle thinks it’s safe enough to sleep, then it probably is. 

 

And Taako  _ should  _ sleep. But he can’t. There’s something about the sharp coldness of the air, and the eerie silence of the woods, and the stupid, irrational feeling in his stomach that these three bedrolls are too far away from each other.

 

It’s only one night, and then they’ll continue their trek, find the town Lucretia sent them to check out, scope for some relics, kill some bad guys, and catch a flying sphere outta there. He can skip out on one night’s sleep, he’s Taako! He once carried out an entire conversation with Killian after not sleeping for three days. (He chooses to ignore the part where he accidentally called her Carey, had his eyes closed for half of the conversation, and then was bodily dragged to his bed by Killian.) 

 

He huffs out a sigh and sits up, blinking sleepily. His heart jumps in his chest when he notices a figure sitting on the other side of the campfire, but his eyes quickly adjust and he can make out Magnus sitting there, polishing Stephen’s glass bowl. 

 

“Hey,” Magnus says quietly when he notices Taako up. “I thought you were asleep.” 

 

“Elves don’t need sleep, my dude.” 

 

Elves, however, can sleep, and  _ should _ sleep, and a nap sounds fuckin’ great right now. But Magnus doesn’t need to know that.

 

“Why are you up anyway?” Taako inquires. “As far as I’m aware, humans do need sleep. Quite a bit of it.”

 

Magnus leans forward slightly and whispers conspiratorially, covering the fishbowl with a large hand. “Stephen gets scared if he’s alone in the dark.”

 

Magnus even lies respectfully, not even trying to deceive you, if anything just trying to make you laugh. The whole situation is so surreal to Taako, and he quickly breaks it down in his head.

 

One - Magnus is clearly exhausted. Supporting evidence can be found in the dark circles under his eyes and the yawns that he tries to subtly hide behind his hand, which are becoming more and more frequent.

 

Two - Magnus, for some reason, does not want to go to sleep. Why? Does he get night terrors as well? You’ve never noticed it before. Does he want something from you? No, he’s not talking to you, he’s just sitting nearby in comfortable silence, holding Stephen’s glass ball in both hands. It’s kind of endearing.

 

Okay, Jeezy Creezy.

 

Three - you find him endearing. Evidence found in the feeling bubbling up in your stomach that you push down immediately.

 

Taako is brought out of his internal analysis of Magnus Burnsides by the voice of Magnus himself. 

 

“Taako, you really can go to sleep.” 

 

“Or _you_ could go to sleep.” Taako shoots back, rolling his eyes. “You look like a stiff breeze could blow you over, tough guy.”

 

Magnus rubs at his eyes sheepishly, and the light that the campfire is casting on him is making him look like… something like home. Taako shakes himself. 

 

“I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway.” Magnus says. “Aren’t you getting the super creepy vibe from this forest as well?”

 

“Oh, abso-fuckin’-lutely.” 

 

So he can’t sleep because the forest gives him the heebie-jeebies. Well, that’s that mystery solved, Taako thinks. But then, Magnus says:

 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be able to sleep when I’m not positive that you guys are safe.”

 

And, holy shit. Okay. 

 

“You really take the whole protector thing seriously, huh?”

 

“It’s just who I am.” Magnus shrugs, shuffling closer to the campfire. 

 

“Well, as you can hear, Merle is alive and well.” Taako’s statement is punctuated by a particularly loud snore from Merle. God, even in his sleep his comedic timing is impeccable. 

 

Magnus just laughs quietly and says nothing, staring into the campfire sleepily. 

 

Taako sighs, tells himself that he’s absolutely doing this for Magnus’ benefit, not for himself at all, thank you very much, and picks up his bedroll. 

 

“Scooch over.” Taako says, gesturing for Magnus to shuffle around the campfire to get a bit closer to Merle. Magnus obliges, and shuffles over until he’s a few paces away from Merle rather than a few metres. Taako nods to himself at the new layout of his team. Better. 

Taako drags his bedroll right over to Magnus, settles in, and leans heavily against the other man’s chest, pushing them both down until Magnus is laying on his bedroll with Taako resting half on his own bedroll, half on Magnus’ chest.  

 

“Will you go to sleep now, dingus?” 

 

Taako doesn’t have to look up at Magnus to hear the smile in his voice when he says: 

 

“Yeah. Thanks, Taako.”

 

He doesn’t  _ have _ to look up. 

 

But he does, and Magnus is still smiling, and Taako gets a strange feeling in his chest. 

 

It feels a bit like surprise. 

 

Like recognition. 

 

Like  _ oh, there you are. I’ve been looking for you.  _

  
•  
  


Magnus Burnsides has done a lot in his time. He thinks loving Taako is the most important thing he's ever done.    
  


They’re in their pyjamas, sitting on the sofa in their shared living room at the Bureau Of Balance moonbase. Magnus is carving away at a chunk of wood, and Taako painting his nails a soft shade of purple. Merle is off on one of his visits to his kids that he still thinks Magnus and Taako don’t know about, and Magnus appreciates the alone time with Taako, even if they’re just sitting together in comfortable silence.

 

Taako finishes painting his last nail, closes the lid on the nail polish bottle and levitates it over to the coffee table in front of them. He’s silent for a long moment, and then suddenly he gets up off the couch and settles down on the floor in front of Magnus, leaning against his legs.

 

“Braid my hair for me?” 

 

Magnus sets his carving aside (another duck, naturally), and reaches forward to gently scratch Taako’s scalp, smiling as the elf’s ears twitch.

 

“Taako, your hair is already in a braid.”

 

“Let me rephrase.  _ Re _ braid my hair for me?” 

 

Magnus shrugs and starts undoing the end of Taako’s braid and brushing through his hair with his hands. 

 

“Okay. Why am I doing this?” Magnus asks, knowing full well Taako’s own braiding skills are far better than his.

 

“Because I want to say something to you and I can’t look you in the eyes when I do it.”

 

Magnus’ chest immediately gives a nervous and uncomfortable squeeze, and his hand pauses in Taako’s hair.

 

“Is everything okay?”

 

Taako huffs out a laugh and nods, and Magnus feels some of that nervousness dissipate right away. Taako never lies to him. 

 

“It’s just-” Taako pauses. “Hmm, okay. How to phrase this.” 

 

Magnus just keeps braiding, and Taako takes a deep breath starts talking.

 

“Before I met you I was kinda shitty? Well. I, personally, was rad, natch, but my life was kinda shitty? I thought everything was stupid and pointless, and I thought no one in this world could just be nice without trying to gain something from it. I thought no one would ever spend time with me because they actually wanted to. Or that someone would do nice things for me because they just like seeing me happy. Or that someone would hold my hand because they don’t want let go. But you do all those things.” 

 

Magnus can feel his hands shaking as he twists golden hair into a careful braid, his heart thumping loudly in his chest. Taako keeps going. 

 

“I just wanted to say thank you. And I love you.” 

 

He says it quickly, almost trying to pass it off as an afterthought, but Magnus can hear his voice shake. 

 

“Taako,” Magnus says, and his voice is shaking a little bit as well, but he really doesn’t care. “I love you, too.”

 

He quickly ties off the braid and slides off the sofa to join Taako on the floor.

 

“Nooooo, you aren’t meant to look at me.” Taako whines, and it’s only then that Magnus notices the tears in his eyes.

 

“I always want to look at you.” Magnus says, and Taako lightly hits him in the chest with an open palm. 

 

“Shut up. Stop that.” 

 

Magnus just laughs and pulls Taako close, which the elf takes full advantage of, leaning against Magnus’ chest and closing his eyes. 

 

“Time to sleep?” Magnus asks, and Taako opens one eye.

 

“Elves don’t need sleep.”

 

“Taako, I found you napping in an empty transport sphere the other day.”

 

“Details, details.” 

 

Taako stands and stretches his arms above his head, and Magnus takes this opportunity to pick him up around the middle and swing him into his arms bridal style. 

 

“You have approximately three seconds to put me down before I magic missile you.” Taako says, but there isn’t any bite behind it and so Magnus just starts carrying Taako toward his room.

 

“It’s cuddle time.” Magnus says decisively, and he doesn’t have to see Taako’s face to tell he’s rolling his eyes.

 

“Sap.” He says, but makes no effort to get out of Magnus’ hold.

 

Magnus wants to comment on how Taako did something infinitely sappier no more than three minutes ago, but that might  _ actually _ earn him a magic missile to the face, so instead he deposits Taako onto his bed and watches as he immediately wriggles his way under the covers. 

 

Magnus slips in bed beside him and right away finds himself with an armful of Taako. 

 

“How is your bed always so much more comfortable than mine?” Taako mumbles into Magnus’ chest.

 

“Because yours always has spellbooks and jewellery all over it that you never bother to move?”

 

“Oh, yeah. That one’s on me.” 

 

Taako’s voice is laced with sleep, and Magnus resists the urge to say ‘I told you so’, instead kissing Taako’s forehead and pulling him closer.

 

“G’night, Taako. I love you.”

 

There’s a moment of quiet, and Magnus’ thinks he must have fallen asleep, but then he hears a quiet voice. 

 

“I love you, too.” 

 

And with that, Taako’s whole body relaxes, and he starts emitting soft snores, and Magnus’ feels like his heart is going to burst. 

 

He can’t help but think about the night in the tavern where he first met the cute elf with the pretty eyes and an odd air of familiarity. 

 

He thinks about every brush of his hand against Taakos, every time he’s made him laugh, every shared smile and joke.

 

He thinks about how Taako sounds when he says ‘I love you’.

And so, when it’s 4am and he rolls over to see the vision beside him - a messy haired, sleep soft Taako, drooling slightly - Magnus thinks he's the luckiest person in the universe.

  
•

 

Magnus feels like he spends most of his life running.

 

The thing is, rushing in is kind of his whole deal, and he’s okay with that, he really is. Because he _ does _ rush in, and sometimes that’s what needs to be done.

 

People, however, always seem to place the emphasis on the ‘rushing’ part, asking him where he’s going, and why he’s going there, and why he’s always going so fast.

 

The important part of ‘Magnus rushes in’, Magnus thinks, is the ‘in’. 

 

Even when he’s not sure what’s around the corner, even when he’s about to collapse in exhaustion, even when he’s standing alone, shoulders square, facing the Hunger head on.

 

He is always running, but never away, always towards. 

 

And right now he is running towards Taako. 

 

The memories are flooding back into Magnus’ head so fast, but he doesn’t even have time to process them because now he  _ remembers,  _ and the only thing his mind wants to focus on is Taako. 

 

Taako is running towards him too, and it seems fitting. 

 

Through lifetimes of falling in love, and forgetting, and falling in love again; they meet in the middle.

 

And suddenly, for a brief moment, Lucretia, and the Voidfish, and the Hunger, and the war that rages on around them ceases to exist.

 

Because in that moment a body slams into his, and then Taako is in his arms, and he loves him, he loves him, he loves him. 

 

Taako is half-laughing, half-sobbing into his chest, and although Magnus has lost all sense of self, he figures he’s doing the same.

 

‘We found each other again.’ Magnus wants to say. ‘I fell in love with you twice.’ 

 

But when he pulls away, he still hasn’t regained the ability to speak, so what he ends up choking out is:

 

“Twice.” 

 

He doesn’t need to say anything else though, because Taako is nodding, tears streaming down his face, joyful laughter bubbling out of his mouth, and he is so fucking beautiful.

 

“Twice.” Taako repeats, and he leans forward and kisses Magnus like they aren’t in a roomful of people, like they aren’t in the middle of a war. 

 

When Taako pulls away, he finds Magnus’ hand and presses a kiss to his open palm before closing it on itself, sealing it like a promise.

 

“To be continued.” He says.

 

Then he crosses the room.

 

Picks up his umbra staff.

 

Points it at Lucretia.

 

“Ten. Nine. Eight.” 

 

And Magnus isn’t going to let him be alone in this, not for one second.

 

He picks up the Flaming Raging Poisoning Sword of Doom and joins him.

 

“Seven.”

  
•

 

The sun is out today, bringing a warm, bright atmosphere with it. Taako can feel the sunshine filtering in through the windows tickling his skin, and he is so overwhelmed by the feeling of calmness, the feeling of warmth, the feeling of home.

 

He closes his eyes and listens.

 

The birds outside call to each other from the fruit trees that line the backyard, and there’s a sound of hammering in the distance. Taako inhales deeply, and smiles when he realizes he can still smell a slight hint of sawdust coming from the wooden kitchen bench in front of him. 

 

Everything is still so new, so fresh, and yet he doesn't feel like this is temporary. It feels like he is only just starting this journey. And he’s in it for the long haul. 

 

There’s a burst of childlike laughter from outside, and Taako glances out the large kitchen window and sees little 5-foot-nothing Angus McDonald getting absolutely drowned by a huge fluffy dog. 

 

Taako can’t help but smile to himself as he watches the kid giggle and make weak attempts at dodging the dog’s licks to his face. ‘Kisses’, Magnus calls them, because of course he does. 

 

‘On that note-’ Taako thinks, because as soon as Magnus crosses his mind, the hammering sound in the distance stops and is replaced by the sound of footsteps and the back door opening. Dude probably has a sixth sense where he can tell when Taako’s thinking about him. 

 

Taako just stays in front of the kitchen bench, facing the window and watching Angus, and the birds, and generally soaking in the feeling of not having anywhere he needs to be. 

 

There is, however, a place he would  _ like _ to be, and that wish is granted when two arms wrap around him from behind and a head rests itself on his shoulder. 

 

“Your dog is going to kill my boy.” Taako says, leaning into the embrace, and Magnus huffs out a laugh. 

 

“Is not. They’re friends!” Magnus’ point is only enforced when another wave of laughter pours through the window as Angus is tackled by the dog once more, and Taako wants to whine about being proved wrong but god, if that isn’t the cutest thing he’s ever seen. 

 

And Magnus’ arms around him make it very hard for him to complain about anything right now.

 

“What were you building out there, Mr. Big Carpenter Man? I heard hammering.”

 

Magnus just gives a knowing smile and steps away from Taako, reaching past him to open the window a little wider.

 

“I wasn’t building, I was just hanging some decorations.” He says. “Listen.”

 

Taako squints at him suspiciously, skeptical of whatever Magnus could have done out there that he has to  _ listen  _ for, but whatever.

 

Taako closes his eyes again, and listens. Angus’ laughter, trees rustling, birdsong.

 

And then Magnus is holding his hand, and Taako opens his eyes and looks at him, that warm glowing light exploding in his chest, as it did a century ago, and a month ago, and a week ago.

 

The way it will continue to explode again and again and again.

 

In the distance, he hears wind chimes. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading my taagnus bullshit! hit me up on twitter (@imtaako) or tumblr (magiclesson)!!!  
> thank you to reid @hoodietoons for letting me use his d&d character Aeracis in that one scene (also Mae is my d&d character! hell yeah!)   
> (also my proofreading is terrible as usual, so feel free to let me know if i goofed anything up)


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